Unions representing nurses, ambulance staff and other NHS workers have reached a pay deal with the government that could see the end of their industrial action. After months of strikes and weeks of negotiations, the three biggest unions – Royal College of Nursing (RCN), GMB and Unison – are recommending their members accept the deal […]
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Children’s charity Coram published its annual Childcare Survey today. The report points to significant childcare shortages, with children from disadvantaged areas missing out the most. Only half of all local areas have sufficient childcare places for under two-year-olds, down seven per cent from last year. Only 48 per cent of local authorities have enough places […]
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Michael Gove has been accused of “living in a different century” for wanting to stop child benefit payments to parents of children who miss school. The Levelling-Up secretary has tried three times in 13 years to introduce the policy and claims such sanctions would help restore “an ethic of responsibility” on parents for their children. […]
Continue ReadingTeachers in England and Wales have overwhelmingly voted to strike for seven days in February and March as their pay row with the government escalates. In Scotland, teachers began 16 days of strike action on Monday (Jan 16) after talks between unions, local authorities and Nicola Sturgeon’s government in Holyrood failed to resolve the pay […]
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The NHS is at breaking point leading medics and health bosses have warned, saying current pressures on the health service are “unbearable and unsustainable”. Prime minister Rishi Sunak has been told to “step up and take immediate action” by the chair of the British Medical Association (BMA) Prof Phil Banfield. Figures show delays in emergency […]
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Prime minister Rishi Sunak has “performed a major U-turn”, the Guardian reports, and the UK will now impose Covid checks on people arriving to the UK from China where coronavirus cases are surging. Sunak has responded to growing criticism from Conservative MPs over his “dithering” on the issue and the mixed messages from his government […]
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The Conservative government is set to scrap NHS targets in England to focus instead on running the health service like schools. A major review into how the NHS operates – led by former Labour health secretary Patricia Hewitt – will be published this spring. It is expected to call for a wide ranging cull of […]
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Hospitals have been told to clear beds ahead of the ambulance strike with NHS leaders telling trusts to prepare for “extensive disruption”. Ambulance workers from nine trusts will strike on Wednesday (Dec 21), a day after the second nurses strike by members of the 106-year-old Royal College of Nursing (RCN). Hospital bosses conceded the RCN’s […]
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Positive phase 3 trial results, have raised hope among scientists that the effectiveness of lecanemab is the first step toward finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. After decades of research resulting in drugs available to ease the symptoms, lecanemab is the first drug to reverse the disease itself. Some scientists, however, have urged caution and […]
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Ambulance workers in England have voted to strike for the first time in 30 years adding pressure on the NHS with nurses and other NHS staff preparing their industrial action in December. Paramedics, ambulance technicians and 999 call handlers are set to strike before Christmas over pay and staffing levels, Unison announced on Tuesday (Nov […]
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